Irrigation signal lamp



March 8, 1966 w. CLINE ETAL 3239,29

IRRIGATION SIGNAL LAMP Filed Aug. 21, 1962 United States Patent3,23%,829 IRRIGATION SIGNAL LAMP Wilfred Cline, 475 Crummer Lane, Reno,Nev., and Ray V. Cline, Bishop, Calif. Filed Aug. 21, 1962, Ser. No.218,344 2 Claims. .(Cl. 340-244) This invention relates to a signal lampand is more particularly concerned with a signal lamp for use inconnection with agricultural irrigating systems.

In the art of irrigating agricultural lands, it is common practice toestablish a plurality of parallel furrows extending longitudinally of afield, between which crops are planted, a primary trench extendingtransverse and comanunicating the furrows at one end of the field and asecondary trench extending transverse and communicating with the furrowsat the other end of the field.

Water from a suitable source is introduced into the primary trench andflow is continued until the furrows and the secondary trench areflooded. When the secondary trench is flooded, it is known that theentire field has been irrigated and the supply of water is shut off.

It is often necessary or desirable to irrigate in the above manner atnight. The reasons for irrigating at night are: first, less evaporationoccurs in the cool of the night and results in a considerable saving ofWater; second, by irrigating at night, the fields are maintained inworkable condition during the day, that is, in a condi tion which makesit possible for laborers and the like to move about in the fields and totend to the crops during the daylight hours.

Night time irrigation has several material drawbacks. It requires thatthe person overseeing the irrigating operation stay at the field formany hours during the night, watching and tending to the irrigatingoperation. This is extremely unsatisfactory and unpleasant, as thenights are often extremely cold and the hours of waiting are extremelylong and tiresome.

Oftentimes, the Overseers of such operations fall asleep or forget toturn olf the water or, to avoid staying out of doors, attempt tocalculate when it should be turned off, with the result thatover-flooding occurs, and much water is wasted. .In arid and semi-aridcountry, where water is rationed, the results of a person exceeding hisallotment of Water creates many serious consequences.

The expense of hiring competent persons to work nights, irrigating, issubstantial and is avoided by small and less prosperous farmers andranchers whenever possible.

An object of the present invention is to provide a signal lamp adaptedto be positioned at the downstream end of an irrigating system. whichlamp is illuminated when the irrigating system is flooded.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lamp of the characterreferred to which is a portable, battery operated, unitary constructionand is such that it can be easily and conveniently moved from place toplace, or stored, as circumstances require.

Another object of this invention is to provide a signal lamp of thecharacter referred to which is of considerable vertical extent so thatit can be viewed or seen from a distant point, above the crops.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a signal lamp of thecharacter referred to that radiates a signal light uninterruptedly inall directions above the horizontal plane in which the lamp occurs.

Another object of our invention is to provide an agricultural signallamp of the character referred to which is rugged and durable and whichis neat and compact.

A feature of our new signal lamp is the provision of a simpletrouble-free, non-fouling float-controlled switching means.

Another feature of our new signal lamp is the provision of a novelcombination base and orienting means, which means enhances the stabilityof the construction and serves to facilitate orienting or positioningthe float of the float-controlled switching means.

Still another feature of our invention is to provide a signal lamphaving an elongate, vertically-disposed column to project upwardly fromthe base and at the upper end of which an electric lamp is arranged.

It is another feature to provide a column as set forth above which istubular and in which the float-controlled switching means is arranged.

Yet another feature of this invention is to provide a signal lamp of thecharacter referred to wherein the column is sectional and the sectionsare telescopically engaged, whereby the vertical extent of the columncan be varied as circumstances require.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide anchoring means onthe base and engageable in the earth.

The various objects and features of our invention will be fullyunderstood from the following detailed description of typical preferredforms of our invention, throughout which description reference is madeto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a typical irrigating system, with asignal lamp as provided by the present invention related thereto;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of our new lamp;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of another form of signal lamp provided bythe present invention; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a portion of the construction shown inFIG. 3, with portions broken away to better illustrate the details ofconstruction.

The irrigating system A illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings is atypical system involving a plurality of parallel, elongate, furrows 1th,a primary trench 11 extending transverse and communicating with theseveral furrows 10 at one end of the furrows and a secondary trench 12extending transverse and communicating with the other ends of thefurrows.

Water from a suitable supply, as for instance, a pump 13, is introducedinto the primary trench 11. The water flows along the trench 11 and intoand along the furrows it) communicating therewith and thence into thesecondary trench 12, as indicated by the character W in the drawings.

When the trench 12 is flooded, throughout its longitudinal extent, to apredetermined depth, all furrows are flooded and the entire field inwhich the system is arranged is properly irrigated. When this conditionis reached or attained, the water supply is shut off.

It is not infrequent that an irrigating system such as set forth above,is several hundreds of yards long and several hundreds of yards wide.When irrigating systems are of such size, it is impossible, at night, tosee to what extent the water has flooded the system and to determinewhen the water supply is to be shut off, without waiting at thesecondary trench until the desired condition is reached, and then,traveling back to the water supply, to shut it off.

It is impossible or impractical to avoid this procedure by timing ormetering the flow of water, since the volume of water required tocompletely irrigate, especially in large systems, varies widely from dayto day as a result of variations in the humidity of the soil and itsability to absorb water. That is, the amount of moisture in the soil onany one particular day and the resulting amount of water which isrequired to saturate and flood the soil, being controlled by suchvariables as the temperature of the soil, the temperature and humidityof the air and the size, extent and nature of the plant life growingtherein, cannot be accurately predicted.

Further, the rate at which such a system is flooded must often becontrolled and varied to control and vary the effective depth ofirrigation. Quick flooding results in shallow irrigation, suitable forsmall, young plants, whereas slow flooding results in deep watering orirrigation, suitable for mature, deep-rooted plants.

As stated above, irrigation is most frequently carried on in the cool ofthe night when less evaporation takes place and so that the fields willbe workable during the following daylight hours.

The signal lamp L that we provide is adapted to be arranged in thesecondary trench 12 of the irrigating system A and is such that when thetrench 12 is flooded to a predetermined depth, the lamp is energized andsends a light signal, which signal can be seen from a remote place andinform the person overseeing the irrigating operation that irrigation iscompleted and that it is time to shut off the water supply.

With our new signal lamp, it is possible for one person to oversee theirrigating of several fields, at night, from a position remote from thefields, for instance, from a pump house or even from a dwelling house onthe farm or ranch.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, thelamp L includes a base B, a column C projecting upwardly from the base,an incandescent lamp or light bulb D at the upper end of the column C, apower supply means E for the lamp and a float-controlled switching meansF controlling the supply of current from the means E to the bulb D.

The signal lamp L further includes a suitable housing G at the upper endof the column C and in which the lamp D is mounted and housed, and asuitable anchoring means H carried by the base and engageable in theearth to enhance the stability of the construction.

The base B is a simple sheet metal unitary structure having asubstantially flat triangular-shaped base plate and side walls 16coextensive with and projecting upwardly from two sides of the baseplate. The base plate is adapted to engage and rest on the bottomsurface of the trench 12 of the irrigating system A and to establish aflat, clean, upwardly-disposed flooding surface 17. The side walls 16serve to shore up the soil defining the adjacent sides and/or end of thetrench 12, and to prevent excessive dirt from flowing onto and acrosssurface 17.

With the base B shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, it is possible to setthe base into a side of the trench 12 so as not to obstruct the flow ofwater in and through the trench and so as to enhance the stability ofthe lamp construction.

In practice, suitable stakes 18, establishing the anchoring means H, canbe fixed to the sides of the base, to project downwardly therefrom andinto the earth to anchor the construction in fixed position.

The column C is a simple, straight, vertically-extending tubular memberformed of steel conduit, or aluminum or plastic tubing. The lower endportion of the column is engaged in the inside rear corner of the base,defined by the base plate 15 and side Walls 16 and is fixed therein orthereto as by welding. The lower end of the column opposes the baseplate 15 and is provided with a forwardly-disposed lateral opening 19 toadmit the entry of water flowing across the surface 17 of the baseplate, into the lower end of the column.

The housing G for the lamp D at the upper end of the column C includesan upwardly-opening sheet metal or plastic cup 20 having threads 21about its rim portion and a central downwardly-extending tubular neck22, in which the upper end portion of the column C is slidably engaged.A suitable set screw 23 is carried by the neck to engage the column andto hold the cup in fixed position thereon.

The housing G further includes a downwardly-opening cup-like insert 24press fitted into the cup. The insert has a central threaded socketopening 25 formed therein and in which the base 26 of the incandescentlamp D is engaged. A central contact 27 for the lamp D is carried by theinsert through or by means of a suitable insulated mounting means 28.

In addition to the foregoing, the housing G further includes adownwardly-opening, semi-spherical or domeshaped glass or plastic lens29, threadedly engaged about the upper rim portion of the cup andenclosing the lamp D and the interior of the cup.

The power supply means includes a cell or battery box 30 fixed to andprojecting from the lower end portion of the column, above the base andin which a suitable electric cell 31, or a battery of cells, isarranged.

The box 30 is fixed to the column as by welding and is provided with anopening at one end to register and communicate with a suitable openingin the column C and through which the electric lines, connecting thecells, switching means and lamp, extend.

The switch F includes an insulated carrier 32 engaged in the lower endportion of the column, a pair of vertically-disposed parallel contactposts 33 and 34 carried by the carrier and projecting from the upper andlower ends thereof, a float 35 arranged in the lower portion of thecolumn, below the carrier to normally engage and stop upon the baseplate 15 of the base B, a stem 36 projecting upwardly from the float anda contact plate 37 at the upper end of the steam and adapted to engageand bridge across the lower ends of the posts 33 and 34, when the floatis floated and the plate 37 is elevated thereby.

A first electric line 40 extends from the contact 27, or the mountingmeans 28 therefor, downwardly through the column C and into the box 30where it establishes contact with one pole of the cess 31. A second line41 extends from the other pole of the cell or battery of cells, in thebox 30, downwardly through the column and connects with the upper end ofthe post 33. A third line 42 extends from the upper end of the post 34,upwardly through the column C, into the cup at the upper end of thecolumn and connects with the insert 27, which insert establishes theground contact for the base of the lamp D threadedly engaged therein.

With the set up set forth above, it will be apparent that a circuit isestablished which circuit is under control of the float-controlledswitch F and that the lamp remains unenergized until thefloat-controlled switch is closed by flotation of the float andresulting elevation of the contact plate, which occurs when the trench12, in which the signal lamp is arranged, is flooded.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, thebase B is established by a simple, flat, disc-shaped plate 15' defininga flat, upwardly-disposed flooding surface 17'.

The column C in this second form of the invention is sectional, having alower outer tubular section and an upper tubular section 51 slidablyengaged in the lower section 50. The lower end portion of the lowersection 50 is slidably engaged in a central downwardly-extending tubularcollar 52 formed integrally in the base plate 15'.

Adjacent the top surf-ace 17 of the base plate 15 and through whichwater, flowing across the plate, can enter the lower section of thecolumn.

The upper end of the lower section 50 of the column C is provided with achuck-type locking means 53 to facilitate gripping and holding the uppersection 51 of the column C in fixed position relative to the lowersection 50.

The switch F in this second form of the invention, like the switch F inthe first form of the invention, is engaged within the lower portion ofthe column C and includes like elements. The switch F distinguishes fromthe switch F in that the plate 37 is pivotally carried by the lower endof the contact 33' and is adapted to be engaged and pivoted upwardly andinto contact with the post 34, by the stem 36' projecting upwardly fromthe float 35, arranged in the lower end of the column, when said floatis floated and elevated.

The anchoring means H in the second form of the invention, now underconsideration, comprises a single elongate, vertical stake 18established by a flattened extension or continuation of the lowersection 50 of the column C, and projecting downwardly from the plate Thepower supply means E' in this second form of the invention consists of atubular battery case 30' fixed to and projecting upwardly from the upperend of the upper section 51 of the column C. The lamp D is engaged inthe upper end of the case 30' and is covered or shielded by asemi-spherical or dome-shaped lens threadedly engaged about the upperend of the case 30'.

It will be apparent that the means E is in the nature of a conventionalflashlight mounted or fixed to the top of the column C and provided witha special lens. In accordance with normal flashlight construction, themeans E can be provided with a suitable thumb-operated switch, indicatedat 54, which switch is connected in parallel with the switching means Fat the lower end of the column C, by suitable lines 55 and 56 extendinglongitudinally through the column C.

With the second form of the invention described above, it will beapparent that when the construction is being transported or stored, theover-all longitudinal extent of the construction can be materiallyreduced by telescopically engaging the upper section 51 of the column Cinto the lower section 50 thereof and that the switch 54 can be opened,thereby preventing draining of the batter ries, as might occur byaccidental closing of the switch F, as when the structure is laid down,or the like.

Having described only typical preferred forms and applications of ourinvention, we do not wish to be limited or restnicted to the specificdetails herein set forth, but wish to reverse to ourselves anymodifications or variations that may appear to those skilled in the artand fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described our invention we claim:

1. A signal lamp of the character referred to including, a base having aflat horizontally-disposed ground engaging base plate defining a flatupwardly-disposed flooding surface, an earth-engaging stake fixed to anddepend ing from the base, an elongate vertically-disposed column fixedto and projecting upwardly from the base, an electric lamp at the upperend of the column, a power sup ply means for the lamp including abattery case fixed to and carried by the column in spaced relationshipabove the base, an electric cell within the case, and a float controlledswitch carried by the column to occur adjacent the flooding surface ofthe base and elongate flexible conductor lines extending between andconnecting the cell, switch and lamp, said switch being operable tocontrol the flow of current between the lamp and the cells, said columnincluding a lower tubular section fixed to the base and projectingupwardly therefrom, an upper tubular section slidably engaged in thelower section and projecting upwardly therefrom and carrying the lamp atits upper terminal end, and manually operable lock means on the lowersection to hold the upper section in fixed position relative to thelower section, said lower tubular section having a laterally openingflow passage adjacent the flooding surface of the base, said floatcontrolled switch being arranged within the lower portion of saidsection and including a "ertically-shiftable float within the section tonormally occur adjacent the base and said flow passage, said conductorlines extending longitudinally through the column, said base platehaving an upwardly projecting soil retaining side wall about a portionthereof, said side wall serving to prevent the flow of soil adjacent theouter side of said side wall, onto and across the flooding surface.

2. A signal lamp of the character referred to including, a base having aflat, horizontally disposed ground engaging base plate defining a flatupwardly disposed flooding surface, an earth engaging stake fixed to anddcp-ending from the base, an elongate vertical disposed tubular columnfixed to and projecting upwardly from the base, an electric lamp at theupper end of the column, a power supply means for the lamp including abattery case fixed to and carried by the column in spaced relationshipabove the base, an electric cell within the case, a float controlledswitch carried by the column to occur adjacent the flooding surface ofthe base and flexible conductor lines extending through the column andconnected with and between the cell, switch and the lamp, said switchbeing operable to control the flow of current between the lamp and thecell, said base plate having upwardly projecting earth retaining sidewalls about a portion thereof to prevent shifting of earth occurringadjacent the outer sides of said side walls onto the flooding surface,said column including a lower tubular section fixed to the base andprojecting upwardly therefrom, an upper tubular section slidably engagedin the lower section and projecting upwardly therefrom and carrying thelamp, and manually operable lock means on the lower section to hold theupper section in fixed position relative to said lower section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 25 8,872 6/ 1882Ashcroft 340244 730,733 6/ 1903 Ayotte 340244 1,348,015 7/1920 Lee340244 1,451,056 4/1923 Schindler 1161 18.1 1,768,446 6/1930 Gron 3402442,082,763 6/ 1937 Garrison 340244 2,538,655 1/1951 Preston 240-67 XR2,594,885 4/1952 Due 340244 XR 2,704,046 3/ 1955 Moraga 340244 XR3,026,409 3/ 1962 Deisch 240-67 XR NEIL C. READ, Primary Examiner.

1. A SIGNAL LAMP OF THE CHARACTER REFERRED TO INCLUDING, A BASE HAVING AFLAT HORIZONTTALLY-DISPOSED GROUND ENGAGING BASE PLATE DEFINING A FLATUPWARDLY-DISPOSED FLOODING SURFACE, AN EARTH-ENGAGING STAKE FIXED TO ANDDEPENDING FROM THE BASE, AN ELONGATE VERTICALLY-DISPOSED COLUMN FIXED TOAND PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE, AN ELECTRIC LAMP AT THE UPPER ENDOF THE COLUMN, A POWER SUPPLY MEANS FOR THE LAMP INCLUDING A BATTERYCASE FIXED TO AND CARRIED BY THE COLUMN IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP ABOVE THEBASE, AN ELECTRIC CELL WITHIN THE CASE, AND A FLOAT CONTROLLED SWITCHCARRIED BY THE COLUMN TO OCCUR ADJACENT THE FLOODING SURFACE OF THE BASEAND ELONGATED FLEXIBLE CONDUCTOR LINES EXTENDING BETWEEN AND CONNECTINGTHE CELL, SWITCH AND LAMP, SAID SWITCH BEING OPERABLE TO CONTROL THEFLOW OF CURRENT BETWEEN THE LAMP AND THE CELLS, SAID COLUMN INCLUDING ALOWER TUBULAR SECTION FIXED TO THE BASE AND PROJECTING UPWARDLYTHEREFROM, AN UPPER TUBULAR SECTION SLIDABLY ENGAGED IN THE LOWERSECTION AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY THEREFROM AND CARRYING THE LAMP AT ITSUPPER TERMINAL END, AND MANUALLY OPERABLE LOCK MEANS ON THE LOWERSECTTION TO HOLD THE UPPER SECTION IN FIXED POSITION RELATIVE TO THELOWER SECTION, SAID LOWER TUBULAR SECTION HAVING A LATERALLY OPENINGFLOW PASSAGE ADJACENT THE FLOODING SURFACE OF THE BASE, SAID FLOATCONTROLLED SWITCH BEING ARRANGED WITHIN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAIDSECTION AND INCLUDING A VERTICALLY-SHIFTABLE FLOAT WITHIN THE SECTION TONORMALLY OCCUR ADJACENT THE BASE AND SAID FLOW PASSAGE, SAID CONDUCTORLINES EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH THE COLUMN, SAID BASE PLATEHAVING AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING SOIL RETAINING SIDE WALL ABOUT A PORTIONTHEREOF, SAID SIDE WALL SERVING TO PREVENT THE FLOW OF SOIL ADJACENT THEOUTER SIDE OF SAID SIDE WALL, ONTO AND ACROSS THE FLOODING SURFACE.